Welcome to Travel Hunters - Hunting down the best travel bargains on the planet! : The Cook Islands

Feature Destination: The Cook Islands
For our first month of operation, we wanted to highlight a wonderfully exotic location that is also a bargain hunters paradise. The Cook Islands are a South Pacific Gem, once referred to as "Hawaii - 50 years ago". The Cook Islands consist of 15 small islands scattered over 2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. They lie in the center of the Polynesian Triangle, flanked to the west by the Kingdom of Tonga and the Samoas, and to the east by Tahiti and the islands of French Polynesia.

	The capital of the Cook Islands is Rarotonga, an island of around 11,000 people. Most of the island population lives along the coast of Rarotonga. The only other tourism center in the islands is on Aitutaki, which the Cook Islands Tourism Board highly recommends for an overnight stay or day trip.

It's probably no surprise that the majority of activities in the Cook Islands center around the ocean, with swimming, snorkeling and cave diving being very popular. The lagoons around Aitutaki are said to have some of the best snorkeling in the Pacific. Other popular activities in the islands include hiking and cycling. This refreshing island is surprisingly accessible to the world, and is one of the last places not to have any chain hotels and restaurants. The hotels, motels and restaurants are primarily run by families on the islands, and range from simple accommodations to more luxurious. The islands are served internationally by Air New Zealand, and on a more limited basis once or twice a week by Aloha Airlines out of the west coast of the United States, Hawaii, and Canada. For car rental, Budget and Avis are on Rarotonga. Perhaps the best way to get around is via scooter or motorcycle. The Cook Islands are the perfect place to go to get away from it all. They offer complete relaxation and isolation. If you are used to going to islands full of peddlers and scam artists, you are in for a surprise. The islands are essentially free of crime, and bartering is considered very rude. If this warm South Pacific destination appeals to you, check out the wonderful selection of destination guides below. We've also found a couple travel companies that specialize in travel to the Cook Islands. You'd be surprised by some of the prices they show for travel to the islands!

Cook Islands Destination Guides
Lonely Planet	Cook Islands Tourism
Frommer's	Jason's Travel Channel
Pacific Navigator	Cook islands Guide
Rough Guides Journals	So. Pacific Islands Guide
Pacific Travel Guides	Top 10 Island Attractions
Accommodation Guide	Cook Islands Holidays
South Pacific Organizer	Beach and Travel Guide
Webcentral Cook Islands	Cook Islands Links



Great Deals to the Cook Islands
Discover Wholesale Travel - Consistently offering terrific packages to the Cook Islands. Typical prices are around $1100 for a 6 night stay, and around $1300 for an 8 night stay. There are some terrific family run hotels on the islands.
Sunspots International - Offering a wide variety of prices to the Cook Islands. Package specials, including airfare from Los Angeles, can be as low as $1200 for a week in paradise. A recent special even had an Aloha Airlines special for $949, including a one night stay in Honolulu.



Photos courtesy of Cook Islands Tourism, and South Pacific Tourism Organisation